WINDHOEK – Some car rental companies in Windhoek are raking in the dollars due to the influx of local and international travellers who needed motor-vehicles during the festive season.
Some car rental businesses Nampa spoke to expressed satisfaction about the frequency in which their cars were booked and collected daily, while a few complained about a drop in profits.
None of them were willing to disclose their profits, but it is not too hard to estimate, with a sports utility vehicle (SUV) costing around N$1 100 per day, depending on the number of days one books a car for.
The branch manager of Avis Car Rentals, Jeanne Oswald, said business during this year’s festive season was better than last year.
Windhoek’s Bidvest Car Rentals subsidiary echoed similar sentiments, saying ever since they changed their name from Budget Car Rentals in 2015, business has been going well for them.
Budget Car Rentals is an American franchise established in the 1950s, while Bidvest is a South African group of companies.
Unfortunately, not all car rental companies earned large profits during the holiday rush. Windhoek Dollar Thrifty car rental company, another American franchise, said they experienced a fall in rentals over the past year, most likely because of price increases due to fluctuations in international oil prices.
Nadia de Koe, a rental agent at Dollar Thrifty, said the branch in Namibia has little control to increase rental prices because their head office in South Africa decides on that.
Vehicles ranging from station wagons to pickups are available for rent in Namibia, and locals renting vehicles for family trips appear to be a more popular thing now.
But why?
“People rent cars from us rather than using their own to save on maintenance costs,” said Zenia Brandt, branch manager at Bidvest Car Rentals.
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